Honing the Skill of Curiosity

Episode Transcript

[00:00:00]

Kelly:   Welcome back to Let’s Talk About Skills, Baby, the podcast where we discover what skills can help you live your best life. I am your host Kelly Ryan Bailey, and each week I chat with inspiring visionaries about the skills that make them successful. You’ll get a firsthand account of how they develop those skills, as well as their innovative approaches to improving skills-based hiring and learning around the world. Now let’s talk about skills, baby.

Kelly: This week, we’re joined by Fumbi Chima. Hi, how are you?

Fumbi: I’m good. How are you?

Kelly: I’m good too, thank you. Thank you so much for joining us today. I would love to do a quick introduction about Fumbi, so everyone knows who she is. With more than 25 years of leadership and technology experience in both the retail and financial sectors, Fumbi currently serves as  Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer.

As CIO of Washington’s largest credit union, Fumbi is responsible for leading the organizations, technology strategy, information security, and IT operations for it’s nearly 2,500 employees.   Prior to BECU, she served  as CIO at Adidas in Germany, where she led a customer centric digital transformation, creating an operating an agile digital foundation. Before joining Adidas, Fumbi served as CIO for several other [00:01:00] global organizations, including Fox Network Group, Burbury, Wal-Mart Asia’s Business Operations and American Express’s Global Corporate Technology.

And in addition to technology, Fumbi’s background showcases a dedication to diversity, women’s empowerment and inclusion. In her previous role, she developed mentoring opportunities for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Fumbi is also a sought after speaker on topics ranging from the CIO’s role in the executive suite to making digital part of an organization’s culture. This is so fantastic. Even as I read through this, I’m like, oh my gosh, I’m just so excited to dig into this conversation today, Fumbi, so thank you.

Fumbi: You know, When you were reading it, it almost felt like it speaking about somebody else. So I feel humbled that it’s not just me, cause I sit in on a lot of people’s shoulders. So I’m glad to be doing what I do cause it’s important work for, especially, [00:02:00] young females that they can reach the optimum if they set their mind to.

So it’s a privilege to be here this morning.

Okay.

Kelly: It’s so true, and I share that same passion with you on really lifting up young women and showing them what is possible in life. I’m sure that we will geek out over technology as well, but multiple reasons why I’m excited. So I got to list off these wonderful highlights of your life, but I’d love to learn more about the journey.

What led you to where you are today?

Fumbi: That’s an excellent question because I would say my journey was accidental. I started as a liberal arts student, politics, philosophy, minor in economics. It was like, what the heck does I want to do with technology? And then extensively channeled my way into accountancy.

And that was great. And I geeked over the technical aspect of accounts and seeing in whether it’s standards or technical accounting and distress companies and all that.

Kelly: Okay.

Fumbi: I think my  [00:03:00] affinity was always there but I guess never really nurtured it or really knew. And after spending many, many years as what I would now deem as a recovery accountant or an auditor, I actually wasn’t an accountant I was an auditor.

Kelly: Recovery accountant.

Fumbi: Recovery. Yeah. I found it and was like why did I get into that career? But, it was one of those that I knew that when I graduated uni, there was several stipulations than my mother. Cause my, my mother was a widow and she brought up six children and very successfully in her career.

And so I knew I couldn’t go home and say, mom, I’m just gonna sit in my bum and do absolutely nothing. It was almost like you gotta get a job, you need to do a PhD. And I knew that PhD was the route I wanted to do. So back to the story of, yeah I ended up being an accountant. Going through and thinking, oh my God, if I keep doing this with the rest of my life, I end up being an old, boring woman.

And so I really needed something exciting in my life. And so [00:04:00] I joined the distressed corporate recovery aspect of the business, which is basically helping companies that are in distress and using financial acumen to help figure how to be optimized, how do we minimize their lights off?

Well, what are the efficiencies we need to highlight and all that, which now people look at and say, it’s risk management, right? And if you think about the correlation to be able to help companies figure out how to best optimize them, or if they were in distress and they want to get out, you need data.

 I ended up working with technology folks because data, database, IT, so extrapolating  it’s process. And that was my fascination I was like, wow, this is cool.

And so I got more and more involved in that, and ironically people ran away from that because it was very difficult, very technical on the finance side. I loved it. And so, yeah, so as I started to do more and more of [00:05:00] that. I then discovered, it might just be best to move into that aspect of the consulting world.

And so I took the leap and said the heck, and I never looked back.

It’s been fascinating.

Kelly: That is amazing. There’s so many things that I hear as you described this story, knowing when something doesn’t fuel your fire and the fearlessness of being able to pivot and try something new and finding that passion. What was it about this sort of combination of data and finance that just lit you up?

Fumbi: I think there’s a part of complexity that I find intoxicating and it’s like trying to unravel difficult challenges. how my brain works, it’s like that’s the piece of it that I’m not sitting there thinking I just wanted to solve difficult challenges. Who want to do easy stuff? That’s where I find peace. And so I think it takes a certain kind of person.

Kelly: Yeah.

[00:06:00] Fumbi: Right. And I think that’s why if I, even if I look back and look at my career and what I have done, I’ve always been in companies that needs rebuild. And it takes a certain kind of personality and human to go through it. That’s what I enjoy. I’m not one that you just keep giving me the same thing over and over again, it’s not going to enthuse me.

It’s not going to excite me and what you want to get from someone like me is that excitement. You have for the passion.

Kelly: Yeah.

Fumbi: I dream strategy and on my bedside table in the morning I then write it down. Yeah, that’s what tickles my fancy, as they say.

Kelly: Yeah. I completely understand because truly, I think so many of the same things. Most things that people would turn away from that just gets me excited. Is that something you can learn?

Is that just something you’re born with?

Fumbi: I don’t have an answer, Kelly, because I think it’d be unfair to say you can do XYZ and if you’re gonna do step [00:07:00] ABCD, you’re going to get it. I think it’s probably things you’ve got to figure out what you like and what you do, right.

And that also equates to who you are as an individual. And does that mean that’s what you’re born with? I don’t know. Does that mean that is that what you can learn? Maybe. But it’s like when you exercise the endorphins that come  out of you, sometimes get people to want to do more.

I play sports and after a while I just, I could play sports for a long time after I’ve gotten the rush. But the people that go, I just don’t want to do it. Right. And so I think it just what suits people.

 Once you find you.

Kelly: Yes.

Fumbi: What makes you tick? What excites you capitalize it?

I think many times we don’t know what makes us tick. And I think it’s that self-awareness and it’s taken me a journey seeking me many, many, many years. I’d say that I find, [00:08:00] not that I just recently found it, but now I’m more conscious of that and it’s about that value that I’d bring in and I’m not shy of it.

Kelly: It’s exactly the same thing that I was thinking, those first words that you said you need to find it. It’s going back to what you said earlier, it’s funny how you said there was no plan. And it really is. It’s that idea of trying to find what just sets you on fire and makes you not want to stop doing it.

Fumbi: Yeah. It’s not being scared, right? To say, here’s what I want to do. Here’s my aspiration. This is how I want to help me get better. Seek that help. Well, it’s the first realization. So the admission of, yes, this is what I want. This is who I want to be is important. And so I think for us is about being confident and just going through it.

Kelly: I so agree. So for you, when you made the[00:09:00] pivot in your life and you found that passion, did you feel like you had to learn additional technical capabilities? Did you feel like what you brought to the table? Like how did that sort of journey happen for you?

Fumbi: Yeah. I felt I had to relearn. So I went and learned coding. I learned logical architecture. I learned databases. I learned network.

Because it’s helped validate that I knew what I was doing. But I think when I look back now, my plan at the time was I want to learn this because I’m actually going to lead people and I want to be able to understand what they tell me. So that as that compassionate person. And I think it paid off because value of being able to speak the business language, means technology is what they are saying, because remember technology and business folks don’t get along.

[00:10:00] We speak in bits and bytes and like, what does that mean? And we speak in acronyms.

Kelly: Oh, so true. So true.

Fumbi: We make it more complicated because we want those business people to look silly. So we just use those big words. And so I’m able to translate,

Kelly: Yeah.

Fumbi: And then I’m able to help translate the business back into technology and vice versa.

And I think getting those groups closer together was more important. And I think that’s what I was being able to do.

Kelly: Yeah.

Fumbi: Then I think that’s where I felt like the value comes in. So I had no regrets that I felt like I had to learn more and I still learn.

Kelly: Of course. It’s like a constant.

Fumbi: It’s a constant thing. Cause you’re inquisitive, oh my God, it’s a new technology’s coming.

Kelly: Well, it sounds like you’re constantly curious with every little problem that comes your way. It’s like, okay, well, how do we solve this?

[00:11:00] Fumbi: Yeah. And, we’re constantly innovating.

Kelly: Yeah.

Fumbi: I aquired innovation to natural curiosity, innovation doesn’t always come in to say, oh, this is the next big shiny object. Innovation comes into just saying, how do you make things better?

How do you refine it? Whether it’s process, whether it’s functionality, whether it’s people how do you refine it? So yes, you’re right. I’m constantly curious trying to make things just that little bit better than it was before.

 Kelly: That description of learning these technical skills so that you could bridge the communication between the business and the technical people, how did you really beef up your abilities to be that translator person. Because you’re needing to understand the technical aspects, but you’re also needing to understand the business aspects.

Was that something that you learned naturally through your journey or did you have to approach [00:12:00] understanding from that perspective in a different way?

Fumbi: I think it was through my journey. Having had a solid business ground being in finance, and I think that helped. Cause I look everything from that standpoint,

I think that was also fortunate because of the kind of work I had done. It’s really more, how do you help recover? Which when you’re in the consulting world, you help with recovering, but that’s not enough to say, how’d you help with that? Which then leads into strategy.

So now all of a sudden I’m like looking at things, coming in to look at it from a big picture and then saying, okay, how do we build that big picture?

But my knack of curious, they hadn’t built so many big pictures is almost like a camp. I want to actually build, I just don’t want to draw the picture. I actually want to build it. And I think that piece of it then helps you kind of pave your way through.

Kelly: You’ve had so many roles [00:13:00] at fascinating organizations, how do you think through when you’re looking for people to work with you on your team, what are the things that you look for?

Fumbi: I think it depends on each one quite honestly, I think in this day and age, we’re always looking for leaders. First and foremost, it’s all about leadership.

Kelly:  How do you keep an eye on when you’re hiring that your team is diverse as well?

Fumbi: I tend to ask. So I’m very specific, so they know because I think at that level, when you’re entry level usually applying directly and there’s an algorithm that will just pass through. And there’s been no studies to say algorithms are male dominated.

But at this level you’re usually doing a one-on-one right, or you’re doing executive search. Are you using your recruiting team? So, as you’re looking at [00:14:00] us candidates, as you’re speaking to people, you can’t tell me that you can’t find people of diverse nature in that then. She’s not working hard enough, right.

So I’m very clear. I do want to see a diagram.

Kelly: So do you mentor younger girls or do you work with organizations that help young girls get into STEM?

Fumbi: I work with young girls. I’ve done a lot of mentorship with young girls, I work with them on those individual basis. I used to work with organizations. I’d love to work with more organizations now around how do we encourage young girls. Girls will code, that girl power and those organizations on how to engage our organizations to do more of that.

It would be a focus. At some point you can only reach so much with my time. But I think I can impact organizations greatly if I work with them more closely.

Kelly: So for these organizations or any young girls, [00:15:00] of course young people that you may have come across. I’m assuming the first thing you might say to them is to find what they love. Besides that, what other suggestions do you make to them as they would be embarking upon their journey of life?

Fumbi: I think, finding what they love is always key but is everything, right? I’ m blessed to have two children, both girls. I would say no is not an option. I cannot is not an option. Because you got to explore everything. And when you explore everything, then you know what you don’t like, but you can’t say, I don’t know what I like. How do you know when haven’t explored anything?

So that’s always the piece. I think part of it is perserverance. Spending that time to persevere, to really understand the areas you’re in.

 Ask for help. Tell people what your aspirations are so that people can find [00:16:00] ways to help you. Speak up. Because again, back to that element of entitlement is like, oh, well I don’t get it now because I’m X or because I’m a woman or because I’m black is because whatever.

I didn’t get  that. Yeah an element of that comes in, but the reality is if you really are good and you prove it, you will stand up against them. And so I’m not saying that the bias is not there. But you have got to do your best first. That is number one. And then everything else follows through. And so how do we manage that?

So it’s like, okay, know what you’re good at, seek help, don’t be shy. Stay focused. Cause it’s hard work, not easy because you will still face adversity. But if you know In spite of that, this is what we want to do. And it’s not just, I mean, it’s in anything.

Kelly: It’s so true. Sometimes when you find your passion, [00:17:00] that’s, that’s the interesting thing.

It’s not probably what the world expected.

Fumbi: No, not at all. And I think, for the most part of it it would never be.

Kelly: Yeah.

Fumbi: I think 2020 has changed things for all of us, in some respect for the better. I’m always the person where the cup is half full, rather than half empty. Take the positive, run with it, move on.

Kelly: Yeah.

We’re coming to the end of our time here and before I close it out, I’m going to ask you the question, but I think I know the answer and maybe you don’t even know the answer. I’ll tell you what I’ve heard after I hear your answer. What is your, I say super power, and it’s really just a skill though, right?

Like what you think your superpower is?

Fumbi: Oh, I don’t know. I think my superpower is having the gift to be able to think big and break it into small chunks. Right.

So yeah, most people you either [00:18:00] strategize, you think big picture and you can’t execute to save your life because it’s not something you had not been trained to.

I had the ability to think big and break it into chunkable and execute against it. And that takes a certain kind of people.

And then the gift of mentoring and coaching people. I have this thing for women, just people, mentors women actually, and just develop it. I think that because it takes time, I’d say it’s another gift. So what do you think is?

Kelly: Granted we don’t know each other that well, but what I was hearing during our conversation, I actually think your constant ability to be curious and want to figure out problems is really a super power.

Fumbi: That’s true. I don’t even see that as a superpower. Cause I’m just like, okay but that’s what we all do. Okay. I’m going to add that.

Kelly: Not everybody does [00:19:00] that, but now you can add it to your list. We,  the other day, my son had to ask Alexa, what Batman’s super powers were, and apparently he has no super powers, like any other superhero. His super powers are that he is a genius, that he has top physical human form, that he’s a really good detective, and he has like the tool belt and all of the special gadgets and stuff. And I was like, oh, that’s it? you At first I thought, oh, that’s it? And then I was like, what if we thought of ourselves that way, right. Maybe it’s not the things you expect it to be.

Fumbi: That is true. I’m very disappointed, Alexa, did not think that Batman has super powers. So maybe the algorithm is not as sophisticated as we think it is.

Kelly: Maybe, we’ll hand that to you as a problem to solve.

Fumbi: That one may be a little bit too advanced for me, but we’ll tackle that next time.

Kelly: Okay. All right. Well, thank you so much for joining me today Fumbi. I just want to let everybody [00:20:00] know that if you’d like to reach out and follow Fumbi on her journey, she is available on LinkedIn and Instagram. And is there any other place that you’d like to mention?

Fumbi: No, no, Instagram, I don’t do Twitter. I mean, I like to, they can follow me on Twitter. I can follow them back. But that’s me. Thank you so much.

Kelly: You’ve been listening to Let’s Talk About Skills, Baby, a Growth Network Podcasts production. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe to the podcast and share it with your community. Ratings, reviews and suggestions are great sources of feedback and always appreciated. Please reach out and connect with me on social at Kelly Ryan Bailey.

I’d love to meet you and continue the conversation. We’ll be back next week with a new episode, so until then keep growing your skills and have a great day.